Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast
by lostinthewords
Summary: What happens when Castle answers Beckett's door one morning while she's in the shower and it's someone unexpected?
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This is my first fanfiction so please review and give me feed back! I plan to have it continue but don't have an exact plan so ideas are welcome! I also want to thank my wonderful beta forever-lost-in-paradise without whom this story would still just be an idea stuck in my head. _

He felt the change in her breath, could hear her brain start turning. A sliver of light came in from the curtains highlighting the curves of her body. His fingers traced her curves from her thighs, over her hips, all the way up to her neck. He placed a kiss on that spot behind her ears.

She rolled over to face him "Hi," her voice raspy from just waking up. She pressed a light kiss to his lips.

"Good morning indeed," his voice heavy with sleep.

"You know I do have the day off..."

"And would you like to do today? Since it is your rare day off I'll let you choose today's festivities" he wiggled his eyebrows, knowing she'd roll her eyes and she did not disappoint.

Kate Beckett was not the type of girl to lie around in bed all day on her day off. She liked to get out in the city and do things. He loved her adventurous spirit, it matched his childish side that she would never admit but loved it and he knew it.

"You know what I've been wanting to do," She rolled him over leant down and whispered in his ear, "What I really want to do today…"

"Wha-what," he could barely think when she did this, let alone form words.

"Spend the day in the park," she smiled and rolled off of him and headed to the bathroom to shower.

"Tease." He slowly rolled over, getting out of bed. He put on some pants and headed to the kitchen to make some breakfast.

He looked in her fridge trying to figure out what he can make based on the contents in her fridge. He found eggs, bread, butter and syrup; he decided on making French toast. He knew Kate would be out in about 20 minutes. He got the pans out of the cabinet, he knew where everything was; this wasn't the first time he made breakfast in her apartment in the last 3 months they've been dating.

He remembers the first time he made breakfast for her. It was during the case about the Nikki Heat books. He had stayed because he felt somewhat responsible for the danger she was in because he was after all the one who wrote the books. He had just finished making pancakes and setting the table when she came out. He went to get the paper while she poured them coffee but instead of finding the paper he found the body of the person they were looking for. Then Esposito, Ryan, Agent Shaw and the rest of the team came over to gain information about it. They never did get to eat that morning. He smirked as he remembered Esposito and Ryan asking for details on what happened that night and how he pulled them in close tricking them into thinking he was going to divulge the details of what a special night for Castle and Beckett, only to disappoint them by saying there were no details.

He continued to cook while he thought back on that day and what could've been if they hadn't been interrupted; at this point Beckett should be finishing up in the shower. So he started to plate the food and set the table when he heard a knock on the door.

He went to answer it because even though Beckett yelled at him for answering her phone, surely answering her door when she was in the shower was not the same thing. If she was still in the shower like he thought she would not have heard the knock and if she was getting out she would not have answered it in a towel. He heard the knock again.

"It must be one of the boys or Lanie," he thought so there couldn't possibly be any harm in answering it.

He swung the door open and his face fell, "Maybe I should've waited for Kate," he thought to himself.

He turned as he heard her soft footsteps of her bare feet; she was dressed in jeans that hugged her in the right places and a white V-neck that fit but not too tight. Her hair was dripping wet as she was drying it with a towel.

"Castle, who is it? Let them-" she stopped mid sentence too stunned to finish, "Captain what are you doing here?"

_A/N: so like I said above I want to continue this and my plan is to Gates reaction and how she deals but I also am not ready to part with it and want Gates to ask Beckett for a personal favor but not sure what the favor is so if you have ideas you would like to see happen let me know!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: time line has changed a bit I realized that 3 months is too soon now that this story has a direction so just keep in mind this happens season 5 sometime before Still. There will be season 5 spoilers. I would also to thank everyone who reviewed and gave ideas I took some of them joined them together to create this story. I love all your feedback and thank you to those reading that means a lot for my first story. Lastly I'm sorry for not updating sooner, I hit a bit of writers block and I have work 5 days a week so that took away most of my time but this chapter is significantly longer so hopefully you forgive me and continue to review. I also have this story all planned out so hopefully life doesn't get in the way I will be able to update more. _

_Disclaimer: if they were mine there would be no hiatus._

"Captain, what are you doing here?"

"Detective, I'm sorry to just show up on your day off, I'm sure you had plans, but I need your help." Kate and Castle didn't miss the way her eyes darted between the two as she said "plans".

This was not how Kate wanted Gates to find out about her and Castle. Would she kick her partner out of the precinct? Castle had proven that he could be an asset during many times. Yes, he could be annoying and too much for her at times, but, honestly, she loved having him around and she really does work better with him by her side. She pushed those thoughts aside-she couldn't think about that right now because she had to focus on Gates standing in her doorway asking for…wait, what was she asking for? Her help? Well there's only one way to find out.

"It's not a problem, sir. Why don't you come in and explain?"

Castle just stood there stunned and watched it all, not really processing what was happening. Why was Gates at Beckett's apartment? Beckett was going to kill him for Gates finding out. That was a big rule in their relationship-keep it a secret from Gates-and he had just broken it. In his defense, though, the last person he thought would be at the door was their captain. Lanie, the boys, and their families already knew so he saw no harm in answering the door. She just has to give him a moment to explain and she would forgive him. He glanced at Beckett through the corner of his eye, trying to read her facial expression. She had a really good poker face but he still knew her tells. He sees she's just as shocked as he is but he can read in her eyes that he's supposed to be doing something. He shakes away the thoughts and focuses on the situation realizing that he needs to move so Gates can come in. Wait, why is she coming in?

"I'll go make some coffee," Castle decided. "Sir, we have some French toast- would you like some?"

"No, thank you" Gates says as she sits down on Beckett's couch with her.

Castle returns a few minutes later with two coffees for him and Kate. He sits down in the chair across from them. No need to make this situation more awkward than it is.

"So, as I was saying before, I need your help with a personal favor. I know that the past year we've had some issues but I feel- I hope that we have come to an understanding and there is mutual respect between us. Now, with that said this is a personal favor, and I know you guys have a past with going rogue and being discreet which is why I came here. I called a couple times earlier but you didn't answer." Gates glanced at Castle again who looked down at shoes, his cheeks turning red. He decided being quiet was the best strategy here, not wanting to make the situation worse and give Gates another reason to kick him out.

Kate was confused. Sure her and Gates have had their differences in the past but Gates has also shown she has their backs. Over time, they have gained some of her trust. She remembers Gates telling her to do whatever she needs to get Castle's daughter back when she was kidnapped. So now here was Gates sitting on her couch asking for their help and discretion.

"Of course, sir, whatever you need. What exactly do you want?"

"I got a visit today at the precinct from my very distraught mother-in-law, you know, the one that drives me insane. She told me her friend, Emily was dead and she didn't know whom else to turn to. Turns out not only had her friend died, but she was the one that found the body. Now I cannot work the case because of personal conflict but you are the best detective in the NYPD. You and your team have experience, let's say, of taking a personal interest in personal cases."

"Yeah, anything you need. We will be there in about 20 minutes. Is she still there? I'd like to talk to her and get her story."

"Yes, detective, see that you get there sooner, so you don't have a double homicide on your hands." With that Gates headed back out the door, Kate shut the door behind her. Castle walked up behind her placing his hands on her shoulder. She turned around and leaned in, wrapping her arms around his waist. She looked up into his bright blue eyes and saw him trying to process what just happened.

"Wow, that was- unexpected. Look, Kate, I'm sorry I opened the door, but in my defense I really thought it was Lanie or the boys. I never thought it would be Gates. I should've looked through the peephole and then hid. But maybe it's not so bad that she knows. I mean she didn't say any-"

"Castle, stop. I'm not mad, a little shocked and surprised, yes, but it's not your fault. Never in a million years did I think I'd see Gates on the other side of my door either." She leaned up lightly touched her lips to his. She felt him start to deepen the kiss so she held on for a minute longer and then pulled away. "Let's get ready and get down there before she does something she may regret."

* * *

Beckett and Castle arrived at the precinct 20 minutes later. They walked into the break room, which is where Kate talked to the victim's families. She wanted Gates' mother-in-law to feel comfortable and trusting when talking, so interviewing her in an interrogation room was not a good idea. As she walked in she saw her captain sitting there with her mother-in-law, almost comforting her. It was a different side of Gates, one she had never seen before, and frankly it was kind of strange to see it now, considering how Gates had asked her not answer the call if there was a murder at her address around Christmas time.

"Hello Mrs. Gates, my name is Detective Kate Beckett and this is Richard Castle. Now, I know this is going to be difficult, but I need to go over what happened this morning."

"But I already told everything to Victoria…can't she just tell you? Oh, and call me Diane because Mrs. Gates make me sound old." Kate noticed Gates rolling her eyes at that. She also thought she heard her mutter something under breath that sounded like "sound old pft."

"I'm sorry, but I need to hear it from you. Why don't we start with why you were going to see her?"

"Well, she had called the night before asking if I could meet her for lunch. I suggested we meet at the club where we play golf sometimes. She said no, that she needed to discuss something with me that she didn't want anyone else to know about. People at the club are very nosy- they talk about anything and everyone. So we decided to meet at her house."

"Do you have any idea on what she wanted to talk to you about?" Castle jumped in.

"I assumed she wanted to go over plans for her wedding vow renewal coming up next month."

"Why wouldn't she want to discuss that at the club?"

"Well, there is a younger couple, Adrian and Zoey, who are getting married and the bride's mother, Renee, goes to the same club. Well, Emily and Renee had similar taste. She had already booked the band Emily wanted, and the only way she could know the details of Emily's renewal is if she was eavesdropping. She wanted her daughter to have the wedding of the season and because Emily's ceremony was happening the same month, the bride's mother got extremely jealous and did anything she could to ruin Emily's renewal."

Beckett wrote down _Adrian, Zoey, Renee _to have Ryan and Esposito to look into when they come in.

"Now what did you see when you got to the house?"

"I walked up to the house but when I knocked on the door I noticed it wasn't quite closed. So I walked in, calling her name to let her know I was there.I went into the living room and- and, oh god it was so awful" Diane's voice started to break. Beckett could tell the reality of what happened had started to hit her. She wanted to wrap this up before Diane became too distraught but she also had to get her statement before she forgot the details.

Castle had gotten up towards the end of the statement when he realized it was becoming too much for her. When he came back he handed her a glass of water to help calm her down. He stayed quiet for the rest of the interview. He was already on thin ice with Gates finding them together in her apartment this morning. He didn't want to give her another reason to ban him from the precinct, especially because this case involved her family.

"I'm sorry but I just need you to finish then you're done," Kate prompted, hoping this would help her finish, so they could head to the crime scene while CSU finished processing it.

"I know." Diane took a deep breath and continued; "I saw her lying on the ground in her living room. There was a pool-a pool of blood by her." She took another breath trying to stop her voice from breaking again, "by her head, that's all I can remember."

"Okay thank you, if you remember anything else please contact me." She handed Diane her card, before she left.

As Diane got up and opened the door, she turned around. "Oh, detective, I remember something else. I saw a something flash by the window in the corner of my eye, I thought it might have been a bird, but I don't know. I didn't get a good look at it."

"Thank you, Diane." With that Gates walked Diane into her office.

"So what do you think?" Castle turned to Beckett.

"I think she gave us a lead, but we won't know anything else until we go to the crime scene and see what actually happened."

"You think she may be lying?

"I don't know, Castle. All I know right now is that she found the body and fled the crime scene. That doesn't look too good for her right now."

"You think she would lie to Captain Gates? She must be good to pull that off because I couldn't even think about lying to her."

"Yeah, well, technically we did lie to her by keeping our relationship a secret."

"And look how well that turned out. We got caught and who knows what's going to happen now. Besides, do you think she didn't suspect something? I almost hope that, because if she did and never said anything then maybe we're in the clear."

"That may be, Castle, but that doesn't change my rule of no PDA at work, got it? Now let's go.""Hey Lanie, what've we got?"

* * *

"Girl, what are you doing here? I thought you had today off?"

"Yeah, so did I, but Gates asked me to work this case so that changed."

"What do you mean she asked you to work this case?"

"Lanie, it's been a long morning, okay. I'll fill you in later. Tell me about the vic."

"I'ma hold you to that. Well, the victim is a 66**-**year-old female. The way the blood pooled around her head it's safe to say COD is blunt force trauma to the back of the head. I am assuming she was hit over the head by this statue, but I will run tests back at the lab to confirm it."

"TOD?"

"Right now I would say between 7 A.M. and 12:30 P.M., but I'll narrow that down back at the lab."

"Alright, thanks Lanie. Ryan, Esposito?"

"Yeah boss?" Ryan walked over to her.

"Yo," Esposito came up behind her.

"What do you guys have so far?"

"Well, there wasn't anyone here when CSU came in," Ryan started, "and we don't know who made the call but we're looking into it," Esposito finished.

"Don't worry about that, there was a witness and I already talked to her." Ryan and Esposito gave her a puzzled look. "I'll explain later back the precinct, but the witness did say she thought she saw something fly past the window. She wasn't sure what it was, but go interview neighbors and see if they saw anything between 7 A.M. and 12:30 P.M." They opened their mouths to question further but saw the look in her eyes that said _not right now_, so they went to interview the neighbors.

"Hey, Beckett? You may want to come and take a look at this!" Castle called from another room.

"What is-oh." Beckett stopped mid sentenced as she saw the office. It had been completely destroyed. Papers were everywhere; drawers were left opened and emptied. Clearly someone was looking for something and left in a hurry.

"Looks like someone was searching for something," Beckett said.

"I wonder if they found it," Castle responded.

Then they turned around at the same time as they heard a voice they didn't recognize.

"Oh my god! What the hell happened?"


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N okay so this so way over due and I'm sorry but good news is the next 2 chapters are already written and are sent to my beta so it won't take so long. Please review! Reviews will help me write faster and not leave you guys hanging for so long next time. _

"Oh my god what the hell happened?"

"Um excuse me sir, I need you to step back?"

"Why? What's going on? Where's Emily?" He pushed past the officers in front him. He stopped in the doorway of the living room, "Emily! What happened to her?"

"Sir, I need you to calm down, take a deep breath and I will answer your questions the best I can for the moment." Beckett guided him to the front the steps. "Now, I need you to tell me who you are and your relation to Emily?"

"I'm her husband, Will. Now I want to know what happened, who did this?"

"I'm sorry for you're loss Will, we don't know much right now. I know this is tough but I'm going to have an officer take you down to the precinct, you'll have to answer some questions about your wife." She waved an officer over, "I need you to drive Will here, down to the precinct."

"Yes, detective," the officer replied, and lead him to his car.

Castle came up behind her, his hand almost reached out to touch the small of her back before he remembered where they were. He knew how hard talking to the victim's family was, especially because she has been on the other side, but that's what made her so good at her job. He couldn't even imagine what is going through Will's mind right now. Actually he could, he's come close to loosing Kate on several occasions, even Alexis earlier this year, however he was lucky; he didn't loose either of them, unlike Will.

"What's the scariest type of plant?" When she didn't answer he continued anyways, "a bam_boo_."

He saw Beckett's lips turn up the corners as she rolled her eyes.

"Come on, looks like we have someone else who can give us more information."

* * *

When they arrived at the precinct, she saw that Will was in the interrogation room. Just because he wasn't a suspect doesn't mean he's off the hook. Beckett liked having the upper hand, and one thing was certain. When she interviewed someone in the box, she was the one in charge. She walked in and sat across from him, while Castle sat to her left. If Gates kicked him out she was going to miss having him in here with her. Not that she would admit but he picked up on things at times that helped lead the interrogation.

"Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt Emily?"

"No, everyone loved her. Especially at the club, she was a very social person always joining charities and going to functions every weekend."

"What club do you guys belong to?"

"The New York Country Club."

"Okay now where you were this morning?"

"I was driving home from work."

"You were driving home from work on a Saturday morning?" Castle asked.

"Yes, I stayed at the office last night, I was too tired to drive home." Castle noticed he shifted in his seat.

"Where do you work?" Beckett questioned.

"I am a stock broker at the James Mcdowell firm," Beckett made a note to check his story out.

"It looked like someone went through the office looking for something. I am going to call robbery and have someone take you over there to look around and see if anything is missing."

"Is that what got Emily killed, a robbery?"

"It is possible she interrupted the robber and they killed her because she saw them, but we don't know that's what happened." Kate told him honestly. She believed honesty was the best policy when talking to the victim's family.

She left Will in the room and went to her desk to call down to robbery so they can send someone up. Castle followed her out, sat down in his chair and started fiddling with his phone to keep himself occupied.

As she hung up the phone her cell phone went off, "Lanie's done with the body, let's head down there."

"Do you believe his story?" Castle asked, while waiting for the elevator.

"I don't have any reason not to at this point but we still have to look into his story and make sure he's not hiding anything." Beckett answered while texting Lanie letting her know they're on their way.

When the doors opened; they were both too preoccupied on their phone to notice there were people in the elevator coming out. The couple dived head and phone first into another couple that was coming out.

"Yo watch it," Esposito muttered.

"Oh hey guys we were just coming to catch you up." Ryan said once he noticed whom they ran into.

"Did you guys get anything from the neighbors? And make it fast don't want to keep Lanie waiting." Beckett said, her and Castle letting the door close behind them.

"No, you don't. I learned that lesson the hard way," Esposito shook his head at the memory of that particular fight. "Anyways the neighbors were a dead end. No one saw or heard anything."

"How is that possible? I thought neighbors were supposed to have each others backs and watch out for one another." Ryan wondered. Now that him and Jenny were trying to have kids it had crossed his mind that maybe they should move out of the city but with the cases they see daily it doesn't seem like there's a difference; crime and murder happen anywhere there are people.

"I thought about moving to the suburbs when Alexis was born but I did some research and found out that there are more break ins, my theory is that in the city people are always on the move and there are doorman's to watch the building but in the suburbs, there are lonely housewives sitting at home alone while their children are in school and husbands at work. They need a little thrill in their life so they sit and watch other people go in and out, they start to notice a pattern and decide to break in to satisfy that need of a rush in their life." At this point Beckett, Ryan and Esposito are staring at him; Beckett has that I-can't-believe-I'm-dating-you look, Esposito is looking at him like he's lost it and Ryan is looking at him like he makes total sense.

"You done?" Beckett asked, with her slightly annoyed tone. Castle nodded, "Good. Let's go. We've kept Lanie waiting now and it's on you."

"Oh, I almost forgot Ryan and Espo I need you to look into the husband. See if he stayed late at work last night and where he was this morning; let's make sure his story checks out," Beckett added as they entered the elevator. As the doors shut Esposito made a gesture that suggested Lanie would hang him and Castle mouthed the words save me.

* * *

"Girl, what took you so long? You said you were on your way," Lanie crossed her arms with her don't-mess-with-me face.

"Not my fault Lanie, Castle over here decided to hold a mini story time."

Lanie turned her attention to Castle, "I-I'm sorry Lanie, it won't happen again." He stammered while Lanie continued to glare at him, "I'll make it up to you I promise just tell me when and how."

"Bring me a bear claw to the next early crime scene and consider yourself forgiven."

"Done." Castle said quickly, thankful that she stopped giving him that look.

"Alright Lanie what've you go for us?"

"I narrowed down time of death from between 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Cause of death was bludgeoning of the head, there wasn't anything under her fingernails so she didn't fight back. She has a genetic condition in her blood, it wasn't life threatening but she was taking medication for it."

"What kind of blood condition?" Castle asked curiously, he thought he might be able to work into one of his books.

"It's called Thrombocytopenia, basically the thinning of blood, she'd have to be careful not to cut herself, if she did it her body would take longer to for the blood to clot. That would explain the amount of blood, I thought it was more than usual."

"Thanks Lanie." They turned to leave when Lanie called out, "nah uh not so fast girl, you owe me a story."

Beckett looked at her confused, and then remembered the conversation at the crime scene. She looked to Castle with that look that said give-us-a-minute.

"I'm going to go update the board and then stare at it…" Castle trailed off, knowing that when Lanie wanted to talk to Beckett she meant it was private not for his ears.

After he left, Lanie said, "Okay spill. Why are you working on your day off and why did you guys miss breakfast?"

"Okay well, this morning I was in the shower while Castle made breakfast. Apparently while I was in the shower someone knocked on the door, when I came out he had answered and there was Gates standing in my door way, while Castle was in his pj's and I was fresh out of the shower. So now she knows about us but hasn't said anything to us and Castle's still around so I don't know what's going to happen. Oh and to top it off I'm working this case as a personal favor to her because her mother-in-law was the one who found the body." That felt good to get off her chest.

They sat there in silence for a minute as Lanie processed everything she just heard. She was not expecting to hear that kind of story. Gates catching them by showing up to her apartment, and working a personal case for her. For once Lanie was speechless for a little while.

"What kind of pj's was he wearing?" Lanie finally asked with a smirk.

"How does that even matter?"

"It matters because depending on what he was wearing maybe it looked like he came over that morning, that's why she hasn't said anything; she doesn't know."

"Lanie, there's no mistaking that he stayed over last night. He had bedhead and his pj bottoms on and no shirt."

"Bedhead. I see. You go girl." Lanie winked at her.

"Shut up I mean actual bedhead. That's not even the point, I mean what's going to happen now?"

"Look honey, if Gates kicks Castle out that's not going to change your relationship. It's so much more than him following you around at this point, I mean you guys basically live with each other. You're not getting rid of him that easy, I bet if she does make him leave he will still call and text you about every case and you will still go home and do that cute thing of finishing each other's sentences."

Kate's phone went off, "Hey Castle...I'll be right up." She got up and at the doorway, turned around and said "Thank you." Lanie smiled in return as she left.

Staring at the murder board only gets him so far he needed coffee. He decided to kill some time, since he didn't know how long they would be talking for, by going to the coffee shop down the street. He picked up their regular coffee orders. He called Beckett to let her know he had coffee waiting; she didn't like cold coffee.

She met him at the bottom of the elevators to ride up together. When they stepped off the elevator they heard a voice they haven't heard a long time.

They both turned and faced each other as they said at the same time.

"It isn't, is it?"


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Oh and I updated chapter 3 to put in the line breaks because I forgot. What?! I'm updating a couple days later instead of weeks?! Time to find out who the mystery person is. Thank you for all the reviews keep them up I may update again in a couple days. Remember the more reviews the faster I update!_

"It isn't, is it?" They both turned and faced each other as they said it at the same time.

"Hey guys look who showed up from downstairs," Ryan smirked.

"It's our old friend Demming," Esposito added with a grin on his face.

They were loving every minute of this. For the second time today Castle was speechless, and that never happened. He knew his and Beckett's relationship was solid and there was no real reason to be jealous but he just couldn't help it. He's a guy. Plus, seeing Demming brought up memories from the past. He can't help but blame Demming that he and Becket didn't get together 3 years ago. If he wasn't around back then, then maybe she would've said yes to going to the Hamptons and the whole disaster between him and Gina never would've happened. But that doesn't matter anymore. Demming let her go, so Castle wins. He knew that last thought was childish but he is a child at heart. Besides thanks to Esposito and Ryan putting those noses in Beckett's relationship when they went into the Hamptons for the weekend, he knew that Demming was dating someone else, so no reason to be worried. None. At. All.

"Hey Demming, how have you been?" Castle stuck his hand to shake it. What he really wanted to do is pull Beckett closer to him and wrap his arm around her but that would backfire on him on so many levels.

"I've been good man, how's the books going?"

"Oh you know I write them, people buy them; same old-same old."

"So how's it down in robbery?" Beckett jumped him before they pulled down their pants right there in the middle of the precinct.

"Better than up here, more interesting cases, although I do miss that coffee machine you bought, Rick."

"It's still in the same place, I want a cup myself come on let's go," Rick offered, they went to the break room leaving Beckett and the boys to catch up on the case.

"So...Demming's back. That's got to be awkward," Esposito said.

"Yeah. You're really going to let them go in there without you?" Ryan chimed in.

"Okay guys. Not that it's any of your business but, Castle and I are in a good place and Demming is not going to mess that up besides they're both grown men. They know how to behave." Esposito and Ryan gave her a look that said you-really-believe-that? "Well one of them is a grown man that knows how to behave." She narrowed her eyes at them, saying mind-your-own-business. "Now what did you find out about the husband?"

They moved on, knowing that pushing it further would just end up with more paper work on their desks. "Well, we checked with the people in his office and they said he always stays late and they all leave before him, so it wouldn't be unusual for him to stay the night because he' s done it before."

"So basically no one can say for sure if he was there all night, that means he's still on our list." She said putting his picture under the suspect's category on the murder board.

"Well not exactly, the floor and elevators have security cameras so they're sending it over, I'll take a look at it to see if it shows him leaving," Ryan offered.

"Alright good work guys, I also need you to look into the couple, Zoey and Adrian. Oh. And Zoey's mom Renee. A witness told us that they might hold a grudge against our vic."

"A witness? What witness? The neighbors didn't see anything." They stood together arms crossed, staring at her, silently asking what aren't you telling us?

"Right… well, guys...this case is a personal one... for Gates."

This got their attention, "Gates? A personal case? What's the whole story?" They stood together, arms crossed.

She told almost the whole story, instead of telling them Gates caught them at her apartment, she told them Gates called her. She was not about to tell them the real story. They would have a field day knowing the truth and she did not need to deal with them and their jokes on top of everything else.

"Now. I'm going to go catch Demming up and have him take the husband to his house, so he can tell us if anything is missing."

They watched her leave, they knew she wasn't telling them the truth; they are detectives after all.

"So what do you think really happened?" Ryan asked Esposito.

"I don't know bro but if she's not telling us, it must be good and I've got someone who will know." They did they're fist bump handshake and went to work.

* * *

"So you and Beckett are together..." Demming brought up while Castle made their coffees. "What's it been? About 3 years now?"

Castle turned and stared at him, "No. It's only been less than a year. Why did you think it was 3 years?"

"Well you know when she broke up with me; I knew it was because of you even though she wouldn't say it. I am a detective; I know how to read people."

Castle could tell he was missing something, "She broke up with you? When was this?"

"Oh I don't know right before summer 3 years ago."

Castle thought back summer three years ago, that was the summer before she was shot. Then it hit him that's the summer he asked her to join him in the Hamptons and she turned him down. He remembers they were talking but interrupted by Gina, was she about to tell him that she wanted to go with him?

Before he could think about it further and question Demming further, Beckett walked in, "Hey Demming, you ready?"

"Ready? What are you guys doing?" Castle jumped in, he chastised himself once he saw Beckett's look of not-right-now. He didn't mean to sound jealous especially since the information he just pieced together but he's Beckett's ex and no matter what there would always be a bit of jealousy when it comes to Demming.

"I'm just catching him up on the case and introducing him to the husband so he can take him to the crime scene."

"Oh... okay," he said; now feeling like an idiot. He gave her his best I'm-sorry-please-don't-be-mad look. She smiled back. Everything was okay between them. Not that he was worried to begin with.

Once she caught him up on the murder board and introduced him to the husband, she went back to her desk where Castle was sitting as patiently as possible for her.

"Hey ready?" He was cut off by ringing of her phone.

"Beckett...uh huh...okay thank you." She had her professional detective voice on. "That was CSU they found a matching set of prints on the murder weapon and the back door. No matches in the system but if we find our suspect then we can see if they match. What were you about to say?"

"I was just going to ask if you are ready to go home?" Castle asked eagerly.

"Castle we're in the middle of a case, why would I go home now?"

"Because there's nothing else to do right now, your following all the leads you can. All you're doing is sitting here waiting for information when you can do that home, besides it's nine o'clock, they won't find anything else tonight, if they do they can call you."

She bit her lip as she thought about what he said. It's true. There wasn't really anything else she can do right now and she just wanted to go home curl up on the couch with a glass wine and a good book. "Alright let me just shut down my computer and grab my jacket then we can go," she conceded.

* * *

She sat on the couch her legs tucked underneath, her hair undone, falling down her shoulders. She felt almost relaxed the only thing she needed was a glass of wine.

Castle was in the kitchen pouring two glasses of her favorite red wine. They were going to need it until this case was over especially now that Demming was a part of it. This case was just becoming too much. Gates's mother in law, Gates catching him at Beckett's apartment, and now dealing with Demming. How was he supposed to handle all that? He trusted Beckett and knew there was no reason to worry about them two. After pressing the boys for more details, he knew Demming was seeing a vice detective for several months now. He found it interesting that he's now dating someone in vice and Beckett used to work in vice.

He sat down next to her, handed her the wine. "So…Demming's back." Castle cautiously brought up.

"Yeah. For this one case. Look, Castle, if we're going to work this case together then I need you to behave and keep it professional. I don't want to give Gates a reason to kick you out by letting your jealousy get the best of you."

"Me jealous? Ha!" She looked at him. "Alright fine I was a little jealous when he showed up but I know everything with him happened a long time ago and I trust you. Besides he's dating a vice girl." He added as he took a sip of wine hoping she wouldn't catch that last part, but she wouldn't be Beckett if she didn't.

"How do you know that?" Kate asked suspiciously.

"How do I know what?" He knew that not only would he get in trouble but also Ryan and Esposito, if that happened they would never do him a favor again, even if he offered them the Ferrari for a year each.

She rolled her eyes; he could play dumb all he wants she knew that Ryan and Espo told him and they probably found out when they butted into her life when she went to the Hamptons with Castle.

"Okay well I was thinking about the vow renewal, and I know there was that couple who was trying to book everything they wanted so they had the wedding of the season. My money is on them or her mom; weddings can be very expensive and make people go crazy, trust me going through two of them myself. I've learned it's best to just let the bride make the decisions and not stand in her way. This one time some girl wanted the same veil as Meredith and there was no way she…" Castle cut himself off when he looked over and saw Beckett with that look that says better-stop-now-before-I-get-my-gun. "Anyways the point is weddings make people especially brides do something they would never do."

"Well Ryan and Esposito are looking into them, so hopefully we'll know more tomorrow about it."

She stood up and walked towards the bedroom, turned around in the office doorway her eyes turning a dark green, the shade he knows only means one thing, "I need to relieve a little stress after today so will I be relieving it alone or..." she was cut off by Castle jumping up and swooping her up in his arms fireman style. "Castle" Kate said in an exasperated, husky tone.

"Don't you even finish that thought," Castle growled in her ear.

_A/N: Okay so everyone who guessed, was correct. It was Demming dun dun dun..._


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: OK so I split this chapter up into 2 parts, there was a lot different information so it's easier to follow now! Read and Review, if I get enough reviews I will post the next one up sooner than later! _

The elevator doors opened and they had just stepped out of it when Beckett's phone started ringing. The caller ID said Kevin Ryan, she looked over to his desk and saw him sitting there with his back to them.

"Hey Ryan we're right behind you, what's up?" Beckett asked.

"Oh hey guys," he said giving them that goofy smile. "So, I went over the security footage and turns out the husband lied. He left around 11:30 P.M. and never came back, and he didn't use the car service. From the footage outside the building, we saw that he got in a cab and left. I couldn't track the cab and since he paid with cash, there is no way to know where he went."

"Okay. Thanks Ryan. I'll have an officer bring him in. I want to find out where he went." She went to her desk to call the officers that were watching him last night. After she hung up, Demming came out of the elevators,

"I took the husband through the house and he didn't notice anything missing. So this doesn't appear to be a robbery."

"Looks like you're off the hook for this case." Castle said, a little too gleefully.

"Yeah, it was good to see you guys again," Demming responded. "Maybe we can meet up for drinks sometime, you two and my girlfriend and I."

"Yeah we'll have to set that up some time," Beckett responded. Tom got up, shook Castle's hand and left.

Ryan walked up to them, "Hey guys, husband's waiting in Interrogation 1 for you."

Beckett walked in to the interrogation room, and dropped the folder on the table, "You lied to me, Will." He just sat there and stared, clearly not going to say anything. "Alright, let me tell you how this is going to work. I'm going to tell you what I know and your going to tell me the truth." He nodded.

"I know you didn't sleep in your office. We have you on video leaving your office at 11:28 P.M. I want to know where you went."

"Okay, I wasn't at my office, I was with someone…"

"Someone who?" Castle asked, even though he thought he knew the answer.

"Her name is Delilah…"

"Okay, so how can we contact Delilah to confirm your whereabouts?"

"Her number is in my phone, but can you keep this a secret her husband is a client and if it were to get out that I was sleeping with a client's wife, that would ruin my career."

"This is a murder investigation. I can't make any promises but I will do my best," Kate said.

Castle leaned forward, "So you were cheating on your wife, is there anyway she found out and maybe confronted Delilah?"

"No, I was with her all night and morning, she did not kill Emily." Beckett knew that Ryan was behind the mirror and was already checking up on his alibi.

"Convenient that your alibi is someone you were sleeping with," Castle said.

"Okay, now that we're telling the truth here, was anything missing from your apartment?" Beckett said trying to bring the focus back.

"No, I swear nothing was missing to my knowledge."

"Don't leave town," Beckett told him before getting up and leaving, Castle followed behind her.

Ryan and Esposito met her outside the interrogation room, Castle walked off towards the bathrooms.

"Hey Beckett, husband's alibi checks out, his prints match ones on the doorway but not on the murder weapon. He's not our guy," Ryan updated her.

"How is his prints on one but not the other?" Esposito asked.

"He does live there, his prints are everywhere but a guy never touches the wife's knickknacks. You'll learn that if you ever get married," Ryan said.

Esposito scolded at Ryan and shoot his head, "That was uncalled for bro. I found Renee, Zoey and Adrian. Zoey and Adrian are waiting in the break room for you and Renee is in Interrogation 2," Esposito told her. He knew they were getting nowhere on the case and that made her grumpy, hopefully Zoey and Adrian can give them a lead, put her in a better mood; she was already on edge with the case. Esposito knew it was because it was a personal one for Gates. He also sensed that there was something else she was keeping from them; they were determined to figure it out.

Esposito turned to Ryan after she left, "Yo let's go."

"Go where? We have no leads to follow."

"Dude don't you want to know why Beckett's on edge with this case? Why Castle has been acting like an adult for once?"

"I don't know man, Beckett hates when we butt in her personal business, if she wanted us to know she would've said something."

"Don't be a wuss, she's not going to find out; besides what's the worse she can do?"

"She could give you guys weeks worth of paperwork" Castle noticed Esposito flinch as he came up behind them.

"Dude! Announce yourself, it's not smart to sneak up on an detective like that" Esposito eyed Ryan as he chuckled at his partner's reaction.

"Why? It's not like you had you're gun on you..." Castle joked.

"So what's going on with Beckett? Why is she so tense with this case?"

"Seriously guys? It's nothing," Castle tried to avert their stares, but they wouldn't let up. "Alright, fine I'll tell you this much we had a little surprise guest yesterday morning at Beckett's apartment but that's all I'm going to tell you," he walked away to catch up with Beckett.

Ryan and Esposito looked at each other more intrigued than ever. "I know exactly who to ask, time for a trip to the morgue."

* * *

"Hey chica" Esposito greeted.

"What do you guys want?" Lanie said not even looking up from the chart she was filling out.

"Why do you think we want something?" She lifted her eyes with that I'm-busy-what-do-you-want glare.

"We were just wondering if you knew what happened yesterday morning with Beckett and Castle. We know someone showed up at her apartment, we just want to know who?" Ryan said trying to smooth things over. If they were going to get any information from her, you had to ask nicely.

"Of course I know, doesn't mean I'm going to tell you two nosy idiots."

"Lanie, what do you want? There's gotta be something we can do in exchange for the story" Ryan offered, knowing the way to win her over was to offer her something in return.

She looked between the two of them, she figured if Gates was going to make Castle leave then the boys should have a little warning, they would miss their girlfriend. "Fine, you two owe me one favor each; for me to cash in whenever I choose. It was Gates, Gates showed up and caught Castle making breakfast at her apartment."

They're faces were priceless; Lanie was suddenly glad she told them.

"You don't think Gates will kick him out now that she knows do you?" Ryan asked in a slightly worried tone.

"All I know is that that explains Beckett's tension and why Castle's acting like...well acting like a grown man for once."

They turned and as they left called out, "Thanks Lanie," simultaneously.

"Don't forget you owe me one!" She called back.

_A/N: Okay I hope you guys aren't too sad to see Demming gone so quickly but honestly he served his purpose and I don't like writing him so I made him go bye-bye! review! I love all feedback_


	6. Chapter 6

"Hello Adrian, Zoey, my name is Detective Beckett and this is Richard Castle".

"Hello, why are we here?"

"Well we were just wondering what you could tell us about Emily Forrester?" Beckett started, wanting to start light and see how truthful they were.

"We go to the same country club, but she's Zoey's mom's friend; I don't really know her, never even had a conversation with her," Adrian began.

"I wouldn't say they were friends, they would say hi and make small talk when they saw each other at the club and other social events," Zoey corrected Adrian.

"Are you aware that you guys wanted almost the same wedding?" Beckett questioned.

"What do you mean, she was already married?" Zoey asked.

"Her and her husband were planning on renewing their vows and they wanted the same band, venue etc as you. The weddings were even supposed to be on the same day."

"Look, we didn't want that wedding, it was all Zoey's mom. We just wanted something simple and small, but Renee wouldn't listen. She was the one making all decisions. It basically turned into her dream wedding, not ours."

"Thank you for your cooperation." Beckett got up and left, they didn't know anything and weren't involved. Renee on the other hand could very well be.

"Hey why are Renee, and Adrian and Zoey separated?" Castle questioned.

"Police work 101 Castle, separate suspects so they don't have time to get their story straight."

Beckett and Castle walked back into the interrogation room, "Hello, Mrs. Emerson."

"I have been waiting her for over an hour, why am I here?" she responded, clearly irritated with the detective and her partner.

"We just want to talk to you about Emily Forrester. What would you say your relationship was with her?"

"We were acquaintances, went to the same country club and ran in the same circle. Our paths crossed a couple times, but nothing more, why do you ask?" This woman was a talker; Beckett could use that to her advantage.

"We know it was a little more than that, you guys were planning almost identical weddings weren't you?"

"I guess, she booked the same venue my daughter wanted and she wanted the same band but I booked the band first. What's with all these questions? Is she trying to file a report or something? It's not illegal to book a band for a wedding."

"No, but it is illegal to kill someone over it," Castle said.

"Kill?" Renee blurted, her face showing how stunned she was by the news. "You mean she's dead?"

"Yesterday morning, in her home. Here's what I'm thinking you went over there to talk to her to convince her to give you the venue. She refused, things got out of hand, one thing lead to another, and you just snapped so you grabbed the nearest statue and hit her over the head," Beckett spun a story hoping she was right. She wanted nothing more than to close this case.

Castle picked up where she left off a story playing out in his head, "It's understandable, how you could snap, I mean she was ruining you're daughter's big day, the day every woman dreams about, maybe you offered her money for it but she wouldn't give it up. You were overcome with rage and jealousy..."

"Enough!" Renee shrieked at her interrogators. In an attempt to not let them ruffle her anymore, she smoothed the skirt of her dress to calm down herself down before continuing. "I didn't kill her. Was I mad that she got the venue? Yes. Was I jealous? Yeah, she wouldn't listen. She didn't understand how important this was. This was my daughter's wedding and I was going to make sure it was perfect, the wedding of the season. She's already been married she already had her day. Why did she need to ruin my daughter's wedding for her little vow renewal? It was just a vow renewal! I was angry but not enough to kill her."

"Okay where were you yesterday morning between 10:30 A.M. and 12:30 P.M. yesterday morning?"

"I was at the florist picking out flowers for the wedding. If you want to know who killed her my bet would be Diane Gates"

"Diane Gates? Why do you think that?"

"I saw them arguing at the club last week, couldn't hear what is was about but it didn't look good, Diane was mad and it looked like Emily was scared."

As Beckett and Castle left the room Renee called out, "Does this mean the venue is available?"

Once they sat down at Beckett's desk, she said, "Castle I have to tell her, before she watches the interview."

"Do you really think it was her? If it is what are you going to do?"

"My job, Castle, I can't give special treatment just because it's the captain's mother in law. Besides, she'll probably want to arrest her herself, they don't exactly get along."

"I'd pay to see that arrest," Castle joked.

"Yeah, well hopefully we don't have to. Come on, let's go update her."

Beckett knocked on Captain Gates door, "Sir, is now a good time? We'd like to update you on the case." Beckett knew using the word "we" was a risk, but hopefully by including Castle in the investigation Gates would see how helpful he is.

"Uh yeah…" she said not looking up from her paperwork. "Take a seat detective." She put her papers down, took her glasses off, and looked up. "Oh Mr. Castle, you are not needed here. You can go," Gates said, short and direct as always. Castle looked to Beckett worried look in his eyes. He's been in the debriefings before, why was this different? If they weren't worried before they were now, well they most certainly were now. Gates had been suspiciously quiet about what she saw yesterday morning; he thought that was why she dismissed him. He better leave and show that he can follow orders, which would hopefully keep him on her good side.

He left Gates office, and went to sit in his chair. When he noticed the boys were gone, he got sidetracked and figured they were trying to get the full story from Lanie. He smirked at the thought, wishing he could get seats to that show. Circling back to his current dilemma, he knew he had to do something to prove to Gates that he can be in a relationship Beckett and still work professionally - well, as professionally as they have over the years. Just remembering that he was in a relationship with Beckett brings a smile. He never thought it would actually happen, he always hoped but he wasn't sure he'd live to see the day when she wanted him too. Live to see the day, he realized they both have come close to death too many times. Then it hit him! The perfect way to get through to Gates was reminding her of all the times he's helped. But that couldn't be done face-to-face, Gates flustered him too much, a letter is what he needed to give. He has a way with words, all he has to do is write it and then put it on her desk, and if he can't convince her with his words then he has no business being a writer/assistant-volunteer-homicide-detective. He took a piece of paper from Beckett's desk and a pen out of his coat pocket, sat down, and began to write.

* * *

"So what have you found, detective?" Gates looked at her, interlacing her fingers on her desk

"Well sir, the husband alibied out, and the couple, Zoey and Adrian, that Diane lead us to are not involved, nor is Zoey's mother Renee," Beckett said, summing up most of the day's work. She bit her bottom lip, trying to figure out how to bring up the lead Renee gave her.

"So you're telling me we have nothing? Everything is a dead end? No leads?" Gates questioned, slightly annoyed.

"Well, no, sir. Renee did gave us a lead..." Beckett trailed off, not sure how to proceed, she wasn't afraid of Gates; she was scared of the fact that she didn't know how Gates would react. She can be very unpredictable at times.

"Would you like to tell me what it is?"

Not exactly, Beckett thought, but caught herself before she actually said it. "It's your mother-in-law, sir. Renee said she saw her arguing with our victim at the country club last week."

Gates stared at her. This was not the reaction Beckett was expecting; she had never seen Gates speechless before. "Sir I..." Beckett was cut of when Gates lifted her finger.

"Sorry I was caught up imagining if she was guilty and if she was innocent... despite how...interesting it would be to see her arrested, I think it would be best for the family if she was not. I am just trying to think of the best way to handle this. If we bring her in for questioning and have to hold her I will never hear the end of it, however I asked you to be on this case because I know you get the job done despite personal conflicts, so, with that said, I expect you to follow this investigation where it leads." Gates looked at her for moment, to make sure Beckett understood the delicacy of the situation Gates was in.

"Yes sir," Beckett said then got up to leave.

"One last thing. Tread carefully. I do not need to give her one more thing to hold over my head." Beckett nodded, and then left.

The captain's door opens and Beckett steps out, when she looked at her desk she saw Castle with a pen and paper. She couldn't help the small smile that formed while thinking about him doodling to pass the time.

Hearing the clink of Beckett's heels hitting the ground, Castle quickly put the letter inside his jacket and looked up at her. She sat down in her chair before asking, "What do you got there, Castle?"

"Nothing, just writing out some ideas for Nikki Heat to kill time," he says while reaching for her hand in her lap, hoping to hide it from Gates. Even though she knows he wants to keep it professional so Gates will let him stay, she keeps her hands in his and gives him a smile in return.

_A/N: okay so again review! the more you do the sooner you get the next chapter which is already written. In fact I have the rest of the story written and being beta'd right now so more reviews the faster it gets posted!_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: This chapter is split up again into 2 parts. Read and Review I really want to know what you guys are thinking about this. You've been pretty good about reviewing so keep it up and the next update will come as soon as I get it back from my beta._

Ryan and Espo came up from the morgue, and found Beckett updating the murder board. "Woah! Diane Gates is a suspect?" Ryan asked.

"We don't know yet. Renee saw her arguing with our vic last week. It's the only solid lead we have, so I need you to track her down and bring her in for questioning."

"Does Gates know?"

"Yeah, she told us to follow this investigation where it leads but to tread carefully. So that's what we're doing."

"Alright I'll make some calls."

Castle spoke up, "Want to grab Remy's for lunch?"

"Okay I could use a bite to eat. Let's go." She put the marker down, grabbed her coat and headed toward the elevator. Castle trailing behind her.

* * *

They picked a booth towards the front, wanting to be able to leave quickly if they caught a lead. The waitress came over and took they're order.

"So did you really think about moving to the suburbs when Alexis was born?"

"Yeah I did. I wanted her to have the life I never had, a stable place that she could call home. I didn't have that growing up, mother was always doing shows and on the move, I never had one place that I could call home. Don't get me wrong I had a great childhood, mother always made sure I had what I needed but I didn't want the life for Alexis. With Meredith constantly coming and going I thought she would need a stable home. " Kate smiled at him while he explained, she loved hearing about him being a father. It was a different side to him, she didn't see it often but when she did it reminded her that he could be serious, not act like a 9 year old on a sugar rush all the time.

"So why didn't you move?"

"Well, as much as I wanted that life for her, some of my best memories are living in the city, exploring, there's so much culture and life to discover. I didn't want her to miss out on that. I wanted to take her out and show her the things living in the city can offer, plus it has great schools, a secure building and I could afford it fresh off another bestseller. There was no downside." He shrugged like it was simple, like it was the easiest decision he's made.

Kate fell in love with him even more, if that was even possible. She loved that he put so much thought into how Alexis was raised, and how he always put her first. Even though she didn't have the best mother, he more than made up for it. That is why she had started to fall for him years ago. Whenever she saw a glimpse of this side of him, she realized he wasn't the man on page 6 she had read about; he truly cared about the people he loved and was always there for them. She was stubborn all those years ago, refused to see what was right in front of her but now there was no denying it. He loved her, he really did. It's not that she didn't believe it when he told her but both times had been in times of trouble.

Castle noticed her staring off into space, "What are you thinking about?

"Nothing, it's nothing." Castle wasn't sure if he believed her but it didn't look like anything was worrying her so he let it go.

The waitress came over set their food down, "If you guys need anything else just let me know." They nodded back.

"So what about you?" Kate looked up from her food, a puzzled look on her face. "I mean have you thought about moving to the suburbs if you ever had kids?"

"I never really gave it much thought but I grew up in the city and I turned out just fine."

"What about your wild child phase?" Castle eyed her.

She rolled her eyes; "Well every child goes through that regardless of where they live."

"That's true I remember one time at one of the boarding schools I went to, me and a group of guys would tie each other up in a chair and see how long it took to get out. Well we tied up one guy and this other person in the group decided to light the rope on fire. We did this in the dorm so the fire alarm went off, setting off the sprinklers. I have never seen girls run out screaming so fast. The guy who set the rope was expelled and the rest of us were suspended for not stopping him."

She chuckled and shook her head. They had already finished their burgers, now picking at their fries waiting for Ryan or Espo to call. Her phone rang right at that moment. "Beckett. Alright be right there." She hung up, "Boys found her let's go."

As they got up and walked up out, he said, "Hey how come the boys never call me?"

Beckett didn't even bother to respond.

* * *

Beckett was getting ready to go into interrogation when the captain's door opened, "I just wanted to let you know detective I will be watching this interview." Beckett nodded.

"You ready Castle?"

"I think I'm just going to watch this one," Castle decided hoping to use this opportunity to slip the letter onto Gates' desk.

Gates and Beckett walked to the interrogation room. Castle just needed Ryan and Esposito to leave so he can sneak into her office. He was lucky, shortly after Gates and Beckett left; the boys went to the break room to grab a cup of coffee. Castle looked around to make sure no one was around. Just as he was about to go in when he heard, "Castle you want a cup?" Castle spun around and saw Ryan's head poking out of the break room.

"No. I'm good just going to head over to the interrogation." Ryan nodded, ducking back into the room.

Castle looked around one last time making sure no one could see him. Confident that the coast was clear, he quietly opened the door took four steps in careful not to disturb anything, put the letter on her desk, and then left.

He walked into the viewing room and stood next to Gates. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and could tell he was up to something but didn't know what. She knew it had to do something with what she saw the other morning. Did they really think she didn't know earlier? She had her suspicions but, she has to admit, it's nice have Castle behaving trying to stay on her good side.

On the other side of the mirror sat Beckett across from Diane.

"Look, Diane, I know you had a fight with Emily last week. Why don't you tell me what it was about?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on don't play this game."

Diane just sat there. She wasn't going to talk.

"Look right now it doesn't look good for you. If you want this cleared up just tell me, where you were before you found her body."

"I'm a pilot, I was coming in from a flight. After I landed, I went straight to her house. You can check my flight records."

"Now why don't you tell me what you were fighting about?"

"I want to talk to Victoria. In private." Beckett looked to the mirror, she heard Gates tapping on it saying it was okay.

Beckett, Diane and Gates walked into her office. "Okay, Diane, you got your wish. Now, tell me why you guys were fighting."

"I didn't kill her, nor did my husband," she said, ignoring Gate's command.

This got Gates' attention, "Why would we think that?"

"Because of what I'm about to tell you. You cannot tell my son."

"I will not keep secrets from him, however, I am legally not allowed to discuss details of the case so what is it?" Gates exasperated. Why was she stalling?

"She told me she had slept with my husband."

Beckett saw Gates tense up; she didn't want Gates to do something she'd regret. "Is that all she told you?" Beckett asked, sensing there was more to the story.

"No, she told me he-he was the father to one of her kids. I believed that he slept with her but, I not that he fathered one of her children."

"Why would she lie about something like that?" Gate interjected.

"Look, Detective Beckett, you don't belong to my circle," Diane responded with a snobby tone. Gates rolled her eyes at that statement because Diane was always shoving her money and status in her face. She couldn't accept that her son married a workingwoman and that Gates didn't want to live her life style. "You don't understand what living in the high class is like. People are jealous over the simplest things, they will do anything to create a scandal to bring someone else down."

"That may be true but that doesn't explain why she would tell you, if she wanted to get you caught up in a scandal, why would she have included herself?"

"I don't know why she told me. All I know is that she did and that, to my knowledge, there was no truth to it," she stated before continuing in an acidic, tight voice. "I know we have our differences, Victoria, but I do not appreciate being dragged down here like a criminal. We are family, whether we want to be or not, and I expect a little more respect and loyalty from you."

"Diane," Beckett intervened. "Captain Gates didn't know you were being brought in for questioning. She put me on this case for a reason. If you want to know what happened to your friend, then let me do my job." With that, she turned and walked away.

"I do not know how you guys work around here, but I do not appreciate being talked to like that. I expect there will some sort of repercussions."

Gates nodded and sent her on her way down the elevator.

"Detective a word," Gates said in her usual terse way to Beckett on her way back to office, Beckett entering right after her.

"Sir, I'm sorry. It was unprofessional and it won't happen again," she said as soon as she closed the captain's door.

"No need detective, it was good seeing her chewed out like that. You can go." Gates gave her a little smile and pointed to the door. Beckett thought she heard Gates mumble something about if she were her husband she'd cheat on Diane too.

They wouldn't talk about it but they knew that that Beckett stepping in was her showing her loyalty. Cops weren't ones to sit around and share their feelings, they showed it through actions, actions like the one Beckett just did.

_A/N: So the next part is where the killer is revealed. Any guesses on who? _


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: This is later then I thought but I said I would get it to you today and it's still today with like 20 minutes left so I made it! Review there is one more chapter of caskett fluff and goodness coming._

As Beckett removed Diane's picture from the murder board, Castle came up and sat on the edge of the desk in front of it. Beckett sat down next to him, leaning into him a bit.

"So she's not involved? What was the fight with Emily about?" Castle thought a loud.

"It turns out that Emily slept with Diane's husband, and potentially fathered one of her kids. So she claimed."

Castle's mouth dropped, "So you're telling me Gates' father-in-law may have a kid with a different woman? Wouldn't that give her motive?"

"Usually yes but her prints don't match and she was coming in from a flight around the time of the murder."

Castle stared at the board, his hand holding his chin and his arm resting on this lap, imitating the thinking man. "Uhhh, okay I got something. Diane's husband. She called him over to tell him that he was a father and was going to tell her husband. He didn't want it made public so he offered her money, but she already had all the money she would want. Things got out of hand, he snapped, and killed her."

Beckett shook her head, "No. The husband was on the flight with Diane, but the last part makes sense. The crime scene showed that it was a crime of passion it wasn't premeditated. The office was all torn up, like someone was looking for something..."

Castle's head snapped up and cut off Beckett's train of thought, "I know what the killer was looking for and maybe who."

Beckett looked at him expectantly, "Well...are you going to share with the class?"

"We have to go back to the house, it'll all make sense when we're there."

* * *

Castle started looking through all the papers, after looking through several drawers, he remembered seeing it on the desk. As he sifted through papers, Beckett asked impatiently, "Mind telling me what you're looking for?" He found it right then.

"This," he said, holding up the paper at eye level, their eyes meeting, and the excitement of the possibility of a new lead was almost touchable. She grabbed it from his hands and read the paper. Their eyes met again. She had a twinkle in her eye because she knew that he just found the missing piece to close the case.

On the way to the car, Beckett called Ryan, updating him on the development. "It makes perfect sense," Castle said as they got into the car.

"Don't get you're hopes up yet, we still have to prove it," she said just as her phone rang. "Hey Ryan, you're on speakerphone."

"Hey Beckett, so I looked into it and you're right. It looks like Emily sent out a DNA test, not sure which kid though. I sent their addresses to your phone"

"Thanks Ryan," she said before ending the call. "Looks like we have a couple trips to make."

"Family drama I love it! Can we stop and get some popcorn?"

* * *

They visited the oldest son at his apartment first. They sat in his living room Beckett noticed he was anxious. She decided getting to the point was the best path, if he had something to hide maybe being direct would shake him and he'd confess.

"Did you know your mother had an affair?"

He looked down, "Yes, I did. I saw them once. Didn't see the man though just knew it wasn't dad." This may be easier than she thought he was being honest.

"Did you tell anyone about it?"

"No. I didn't. I was just a boy. I didn't even understand what I saw. So I kept my mouth shut."

"Okay, thank you." They got up to leave since he couldn't give them any more information.

When they got to the door, he spoke up, his voice small and shaky, "Is that what got her killed? The affair?"

Beckett turned back around, "It's very likely her death had something to do with it." With that they left.

They were in the car headed to the middle daughter's house.

"He didn't do it," Castle stated matter-of-factly.

Beckett looked over at him, "Why do you think that?" She agreed with him but wanted to know what made him think that.

"Did you see the way he acted, he was guilty. Not because he killed her, but because he kept his mom's secret. He's a man haunted by his mom's choice, and for keeping it a secret. He's been in a catch 22, no way out. Now he's wishing he told because then maybe she wouldn't be dead. He feels responsible, but he's not our killer." Castle may not be a detective but he sure could think like one at times.

They arrived at the middle daughter's house next.

"Hello, Samantha Forrester? My name is detective Beckett and this is Richard Castle. I need to ask you a few questions about you're mom."

"Of course, please come in." She lead them into the kitchen where there were two little girls playing. "Kids, I need you to go play in your room while mommy talks to these people."

"Cute kids, how old are they?" Castle asked.

"Maddie is 4 and Alexandra is 8. Do you have kids?"

"I have a daughter that's 18."

"Oh wow, you both look too young to have an 18 year old."

"Oh no she's not ours" Castle wiggled his finger between Kate and him.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were together."

"We are. I have a daughter from a previous marriage." God this was getting awkward. Why wasn't Kate jumping in? "How did you know we were together?"

"I'm a matchmaker, it's my job."

"You must be good."

Beckett had let Castle make small talk, while she observed and read Samantha. She can tell a lot about someone from the way they make small talk. Even though she wasn't comfortable with what they were talking about, it had given her some valuable information. She was about to jump in and save Castle when she noticed a bandage on Samantha's wrist.

"When was the last time you spoke to your mother?" Beckett asked, wanting to get the interview going.

"I talked to her the day before she was killed. She watched Maddie and Alexandra for me while I met with a client."

"Did you know about your mother's affair?"

"I had heard rumors at the club but I didn't think anything of it. There were always rumors going around. It's worse than high school."

"What happened to your wrist?"

"I...uh...I cut it while cooking dinner the other night," She said, becoming flustered and nervous.

"That sure does look like a lot of blood, for a little cut. Do you by chance have Thrombocytopenia?"

"I don't see how my medical history is relevant." She was starting to become defensive.

"You saw her the morning she was killed didn't you? I think she told you the truth about your paternity the night you picked up your kids. You didn't believe her, she told you about the DNA test but she was waiting for the results. The next morning you went over there, just to talk to her. Things got out of hand. You got angry. How could she do this to you? To your dad? You wanted to know how she could keep this secret for so long, and why she was telling you now. With the vow renewal coming up she couldn't keep it a secret anymore. She felt guilty." by now, Samantha had started pacing the kitchen. She was becoming agitated, which means they were getting close, and she may crack soon if they just push a little harder. "You didn't understand how she could do this to your family. Think of your kids how will they feel when they find out their grandpa isn't really their grandpa?"

That was the last straw, Samantha snapped. "I went over there to pick up the kids, I saw the DNA paper out of the corner of eye. I didn't want to confront her about with the kids in the house so I decided to wait until they were in school the next day. I was going to go over and find the paper. She wasn't supposed to be home for another hour. I was looking through her office for the paper when she walked. She wanted to know what was going on. I told her I had heard the rumors, asked if it was true. She wouldn't tell me. I wanted to know what it said but she kept telling me it didn't matter, that my father would still be my father. That DNA doesn't make a family it's who's been there for us. I got so angry, I grabbed the first thing I could reach, and hit her in the head. I didn't mean to, I was just going to threaten her but next thing I know my arm was holding it over her head then she was crashing through the table. She was just lying there; there was so much blood. I didn't know what to do. I heard someone at the door, I panicked and left through the back."

* * *

Beckett was boxing up the case file. The captain's door opened, "Beckett, Mr. Castle a word."

They looked each other; "Well I guess she wants to talk to us now that the case is over."

"Was it too much too hope maybe she would just let it go?" Castle asked. Beckett looked at him, "Yeah I thought so."

They stepped into her office. "Take a seat."

"Look, my detective's personal lives are none of my business. I don't care what you guys do on your own time. If you guys can promise to attempt to keep it under wraps like you have been then that's all I'm going to say about it. Besides Castle isn't a real detective. Since he technically doesn't work here there are no regulations against it." She gave them a little smirk. "That is all."

They looked at each other; Gates was really on their side wasn't she? She was going to let them keep working together even though they were involved and everything in the books said explicitly it was prohibited.

"Detective you may go. I'd like to speak to Castle alone."

"I found this on my desk." She put the letter down in front of him after Beckett left. "You ever come in my office again, when I'm not in it." She didn't need to finish the thought; he knew exactly what she meant.

He nodded, "Yes, sir."

When he walked over to Beckett's desk he saw Ryan and Esposito. "So… Castle… did Gates ask where you got your pajamas?"

"Yea I told her I got them from you closet," Castle directed at Esposito. Kate tried to pretend she wasn't paying attention, but she couldn't help the small smirk that crossed her face as she feigned intense interest in the paper work she was filling out.

"You know, I feel like calling it a night, but this paperwork needs to get done," Beckett interjected before Ryan or Esposito could say a comeback. The boys walked away to finish their paperwork so Beckett wouldn't give them extra paperwork as punishment.

"Are you really going to stay to finish the paperwork?" Castle asked Beckett with a hint of whininess in his voice.

She just looks up at him with a raised eyebrow, not even dignifying him with an answer, and getting up and grabbing her coat.

"So my place tonight, then?" he says hopefully before wearily continuing. "I don't know if I'll be able to go back to yours after Gates showing up..."

"Yeah sure." They stopped at the elevators, waiting for the doors to open. "You know Castle I'm not on call tomorrow anymore. Gates gave us the day off for coming in on our day off."

The elevator opened, "Really? What did you have in mind?"

As soon as it closed again, she leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I was thinking we could pick things up where we left off..." her voice trailing off.

Castle's eyes widen as he picked up where she ended, a mischievous smile comes across his face as the door opened and they headed home

A/N: So no one guessed it and I bet you guys didn't see that one coming! Review, tell me what you thought! Was it too complicated? Did you like the how the case ended? Too many characters? Was it easy to follow/keep track of what was happening? Anything you liked or disliked about this story. It really helps with future stories I will write.


	9. Chapter 9

They sat in Central Park, it was a bright sunny day but with a nice breeze to keep the heat at bay. They sat in the shade underneath a big Oak tree; they sat on a red and white-checkered blanket. On one edge sat the snacks they brought, cheese, crackers, fruit, and an assortment of things. On the other side of the blanket sat Rick, sitting with his back against the tree, laptop on his lap. Kate sat on his left leaning against his side with a book in her hands. They had been there for a few hours, just sitting there in a comfortable silence. Rick found himself distracted by kids running around him, people playing with dogs. As a writer he loved watching people and he often found himself noticing little details that would end up in his books, or creating people's back-story in his head. The guy on the bench was waiting for his lost love that he had met at the same bench years earlier. The lady on the cell phone was a big corporate lawyer trying to close the biggest deal of her career. Of course these stories were according to Rick. Then he would find himself distracted by Kate, he didn't know how she could concentrate while everything was going on around her, she could always be so focused whether she was solving a case or reading a book. He wasn't one to talk though, there were times when he got caught up in writing that an earthquake could happen and he probably wouldn't notice.

As he gazed down at Kate, she kept reading and said, "Stop staring. Its creepy."

"How did you? You know what never mind."

She chuckled, he still hasn't learned. She looked up at him, could see in his eyes there was something on his mind. She put her book down after marking her spot, she sat up, and looking at him said. "What are you thinking about?"

He looked back her amazed at how well she could read him. "I was just thinking about what I was talking to Samantha about, before the confession. When we were talking about Alexis. I just wanted to make sure you knew that-"

She cut him off, "Oh, Castle I know what you meant, it's okay honestly."

"No Kate, I want to make sure you know that you are a big part of my daughter's life. You may not be her mother but you are more of a mother figure than Meredith ever was. I know she's had my mother but mother is well mother. I don't know how I would've made it through the last 5 years without your advice. Every time there was something going on I turned to you and you helped me without a second thought. I mean she called you and asked advice about doing that exchange program a few years ago. She never felt that comfortable with Gina or Meredith, and she lived with them. She looks up to you, I couldn't ask for a better role model for her. You're family and you've been a big part of her life even before we were together whether you want to admit it or not."

Kate didn't know what to say, she knew her and Alexis got along but she never realized how much she had impacted the girl's life. It was overwhelming to think that she's had a family before she realized it, before she thought she deserved it. She leaned over to kiss him. Their lips met, it was soft and gentle, as their lips moved together. She smiled as they broke apart.

She was about to go back to reading when she saw that he was still distracted, and not by people watching there was still one more thing on his brain.

"Okay what else are you thinking about." He looked at her; she could see the apprehension in his eyes. "Castle whatever it is you can tell me," she touched his arm to reassure him.

"The other day when Demming and I were in the break room something came up. It was about you two, I didn't bring it up I swear!" He held his hands up like he was being arrested. He wanted her to know that he hadn't gone snooping into her past but that it sort of just came up naturally. She gave him a little nod to tell him it was okay and that she was listening. "He told me you broke up with him at the beginning of that summer. That you wouldn't say but he believed it was because of me. I've been trying to piece together what happened that summer and all I remember is we were talking before Gina showed up. I was just wondering if there is any truth to that? Or what happened back then?" He saw the wheels turning, she was thinking about what to tell him, if she wanted to explain to him. That was so long ago, was it worth bringing back up again? Yes it was, because she was in this for good, and didn't want him to think differently. This is part of their story and he deserved to know the truth.

"Look Kate if you don't want to explain that's fine."

"No, no I want to just trying to figure out how and what even happened back then, it seems so long ago." She took a breath, "It's true that I broke up with him before you left for the Hamptons. I had decided that I didn't want to play this game anymore; I wanted to stop denying my feelings for you. So I was going to tell you that I changed my mind about the Hamptons and wanted to go with you." He looked at her in disbelief, he couldn't believe that they could of avoided the last couple years and been together sooner.

"So why didn't you?" He asked.

"Because of Gina, she showed up right, as I was about to tell you. Next thing I know, you tell me she's going with you and you guys are getting along together, what was I supposed to say?" She shrugged.

He threw his head back and groaned, "I am such an idiot!"

"Well yes that's true but not because of that day. You didn't know, and what would you have done if I told you, you would've been caught between Gina and I," She looked down and started playing with the edge of the blanket.

"Kate, look at me." She didn't move. He put his hands on her cheeks, lifted it so their eyes met. "I need you to hear me because what I'm about to say is very important, you can never forget it." She looked at him, "When it comes to Gina and you, or any girl and you there's nothing to think about. It's you. It's always been you. There is no choice, I may not have always shown you that over the years but I'm telling you now. You are exactly what I want." Then he pulled her lips to his this time it was it was more heated, more about showing everything he just put into words. The kiss was urgent; his tongue ran against her lips, she opened to give him access. Their tongues danced while they breathed each other's air.

He released her lips, "Now stop distracting me and read you're book so I can write."

She rolled her eyes, but settled down against his side again and started reading. She could hear the clicks of the keyboard, which used to annoy her but now it soothed her, comforted her. She decided she didn't want to read anymore. She put her book down snuggled up against his side. Closed her eyes, and smiled, thinking about what kind of day Nikki and Rook are going to have based on a day like today. Soon she drifted off to sleep to the sounds of the clicks from the keyboard.

_A/N: So this story is now complete! Thank you for everyone who read and review, the reviews really made my day. Thank you to my betas __ forever-lost-in-paradise without her this story wouldn't have been written, she encouraged me to write no matter what. To my other beta escape-reader.13 for letting me bug you about plot lines, how to word stuff when I got stuck and for getting me out of writer's block. Please leave one last review! Don't make me beg for them_


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